I'm glad I went to the Ferguson protest march in Houston this evening.There was a cross section of people and what seemed to be many students from the U. of Houston and Texas Southern. The police were for the most part restrained. The issue is more than Michael Brown. Though he matters a great deal. It's the entire economic and justice system. Stuff is broken.

The terrible turnout in the election this month was a vote of no confidence for how our country is going. I did my bit today even though it was a bit tense at times. I'd ask people to please consider what they can do outside their comfort zone. It's clear that things are messed up in this country and that we can't count on our political leaders for solutions.Please read all of NeilAquino.com

I don't know what will happen in Ferguson later this evening--Any violence would not be helpful--but American history is seeped in violence. We've had hundreds of years of terroristic violence by many whites towards blacks and people of color. These are the facts. As we debate eliminating health care for millions over 4 words and as we see our political process bought by secret money, there is no point in holding back about what is stake in our current political and cultural conflicts. We need to ask sharp questions about the direction of the nation & we need to start asking about how we are going to defend ourselves.Please read all of NeilAquino.com

Immigrants work hard and just want decent lives. We should let them stay. They are not as angry as many of our longtime folks.If they bring down some wages, then fight for higher wages. When the going was good in the 60's, many whites voted for Nixon & Wallace out of racial animosity. Now they blame Obama for what happened when they voted for union busters. I get the complexity of it all, but decency & human kindness says work it out to let folks stay. This is what our American history tells us as well.Please read all of NeilAquino.com

Here is a picture of the waiting area of the Honda dealership I was last week to get my car fixed as part of the giant airbag recall.

Airbags in millions of cars sold to consumers all over the world in recent years are defective. If they go off, they may well shoot shrapnel into your body.

If this had been a government screw-up, you'd never hear the end of it all.

The private sector makes defective products all the time. The private sector cheats hard-working people out of fair wages all the time.

Folks can keep on bashing government for everything in our society, but in so many cases if were not for government oversight and regulations we would be even more powerless in the face of big money than we are at the moment.

The first beatings in the Republican takeover in Harris County were administered at their election night watch party, as the media that dared to speak during a prayer experienced first-hand the love of Christ and his believers. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs wonders if assaulting a reporter on camera, physically or verbally, is really what Jesus would do.

In environmental developments, Bluedaze reports on the aftermath of the landslide win for thefracking ban in Denton, and Texas Vox wants to be sure everybody understands the difference between better air and still-bad air.

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Other blog posts from around the state...

Lone Star Q observes that Westboro Baptist Church is wading into the HERO fight against the Houston pastors.